Saakra the Ebonheart Warrior
by xFallenWolfx
Summary: In the second Era, during times of war between the Daggerfall Covenant, Aldmeri Dominion, Ebonheart Pact, and the forces of Molag Bal, a young Khajiit joins in the war as a warrior of the Ebonheart Pact.
1. Chapter 1

**Saakra the Ebonheart Warrior – Chapter 1**

Being raised in Riften was an interesting childhood; Riften being one of the few holds that permitted Khajiits to live inside the walls. Besides me, a few Khajiit merchants lived in our town. Lately, the blacksmiths of the town have been working faster than ever with the formation of the Ebonheart Pact.

The Nords, Argonians, and the Dunmer formed an allegiance to fight for their independence against the Daggerfall Covenant and the Aldmeri Dominion. Even though I am Khajiit and the province of Elsywer allied with the high elves from Summerset Isles, I was born and raised in Skyrim.

I never met my real parents. I was found alone in the swamps near Riften by a Nord woman named Dylia Suleyk. She has dark shoulder-length hair and fearsome brown eyes. Mom told me the story of how she found me curled up in a small ball wet and shivering in the swamp. She named me Saakra. She raised me as her son and taught me Nord traditions and culture. She also showed me how to properly use an axe.

I never sought for my real parents. I assume I never drank my mother's milk because I have no memory of my ancestors or of Elsywer. I learned from patrons in the local inn that Khajiits get their knowledge of the past from drinking their mother's milk. Regardless of my childhood, I was still seen as scum by some in Skyrim because I am a Khajiit. It does not matter to me though. I am a child of Skyrim and I am ready to fight to keep our land free.

I told my mother of my longing to fight for Skyrim. She rubbed behind my ears and told me that I could join when I was eighteen, but for the moment to stay safe and train. That was four years ago. I have trained my body unmercifully in combat. My mother taught me everything I know and laid the stonework for my path.

Today was the day I finally beat Mom sparing! I was ready to join the pact! I strapped on some iron armor and my mom took me to a blacksmith to get a new blade forged. We decided on getting me a new battle-axe, my favorite weapon, made of a mix of ancient Dwemer metal and steel. My mom told the blacksmith of my plans, as a heavy supporter of the Ebonheart Pact he skillfully carved the symbol of the dragonborn onto the hilt of my axe. The border and the dragon were made of shiny Dwemer metal and the rest was of steel. Mom paid for the axe and we left to go to the camps just outside of town where recruiters for the Ebonheart Pact stayed.

The clearing was filled with small fur tents. There had to be at least thirty set up. In the center of the group of tents was a much larger tent made of elven silk. Mom and I walked up to the biggest tent. The door leading inside was kept wide open while Nords and Argonians and the occasional Dunmer entered and left. As we were about to enter the tent, an Argonian leaving the tent stopped and looked at me with slit eyes. "What is the pelt doing here?" She spoke accusingly.

Mom's frustration showed and I stepped in front of my mother and quickly retorted. "I am a Khajiit! Not a Pelt!" The Argonian stared at me like I was stupid and walked away. "Damn Khajiits tryin…" Her voice cut off as she walked away. Mom and I walked inside the tent and spotted a small group of recruiters standing around table with a map of Tamriel. They were pointing to several parts of the map and marking points with charcoal. One of the men group saw us walk in and left the table to talk to us.

The man was a fair-skinned Nord covered in skyforge steel. He had short blond hair and towered over me and Mom. "What do you come with this Khajiit for?" The Nord asked Mom. "Did he steal something?" Mom answered him, "No, this is my son Saakra. He wishes to join the pact." The Nord stared at her confused, it was not every day a Khajiit wanted to join the pact. Most Khajiit Caravans either stayed for the profit, but supported their homeland or just plain left. Not many Khajiits actually settled in Skyrim and called it their home.

The Nord walked back to the group to explain my situation. The recruiters seemed to argue about whatever he said and eventually the arguing died off. He came back and said, "I spoke with my superiors and it was agreed to allow you to join." My face filled with glee and my tail started to move in a smooth, wave-like fashion. "You are to leave to Whiterun next morning to begin your training."

I could barely hold my excitement! Tomorrow was the day! "Thank you Sir. He will be there." My mom said to him as she ushered me back to the walls of Riften. The recruiter smiled and mumbled something to himself.

Mom and I passed through the large wooden gates and arrived back to our house. On the way she had told all of our neighbors to come over in a few hours for a celebration. They asked what for, but she just told them to come. When we arrived, Mom went into the kitchen to start cooking for the party. I was following her to help, but she turned back to me and looked me in my eyes.

After years of being shorter than her by a couple inches I was finally the same height. "Tonight is your last night before you head off. I want you to go and make sure you look your best tonight." She smiled and stroked the fur on my forehead. I nodded to her and rushed off to my bedroom.

Once I was inside, I undressed myself from my iron armor down to my fur and grabbed a brush and walked to my mirror. Looking into the mirror, my ruffled pelt covered over my slim body. I was by no means very muscular but years of constant training revealed the strength of my muscles underneath. Most of my fur was a bright orange color.

My bright green eyes had a noticeable contrast with the rest of my body. I had a small tuft of longer fur on my chin, but the fur on my forehead was the same uniform length. Long darker streaks of orange led from the top of my nose to the back of my head where it blended into the rest of the collection of color in my fur and the fur on my stomach was a lighter shade then the rest of my body. Eventually my fur laid flat from brushing it down. I have to look nice for my last day, so I made sure every part of my fur was perfect and no spots stuck out.

After I finished I put on some fur armor made from an ice wolf. The armor was dark leather covered in white fur tinted black at the end of each strand. My mom made the armor for me after we encountered a wolf on the way to Windhelm to visit a friend. She must have spent at least a week perfecting the look of it for me to wear during important events.

Night came as our neighbors started arriving. We ran out of room in the house and ended up flooding the market place. The merchant tables were filled with small snacks and meals. People in Riften started to notice the gathering and came out to see what was going on.

Soon the entire marketplace was filled with people wondering what was going on and talking to others about what they thought it was. Mom led me over to a small platform above everyone else. Everyone grew silent and faced towards us.

After the last face turned to stare at us, Mom prepared to announce my departure. "Saakra is leaving tomorrow to fight for Skyrim!" She shouted with the force of a dragonborn's shout. Sounds of joy and celebration filled the air. The people of Riften started chanting. "A child of Skyirm is he!" Some of the outsiders from town seemed to be confused on why a Khajiit was going to fight for the pact.

Riften is a small town so everyone knows everyone else. Except for the occasional outsider. I guess the recruiters heard the commotion from outside because they started coming through the gates to see what was going on. After arriving a few of them left and came back with the rest of the recruiters minus a few and joined the party.

I said good-bye to almost everyone in town by time I found my childhood friends. I saw one of them in the market place talking to one of the local orphans. We had all grown up together for as long as I can remember.

First there was Masu, a stocky Nord with dirty blond hair who stood a few inches above me. "Congratulations Saakra!" He rushed forward and gave me a giant bear hug. His hug squeezed the air from my lungs. "Uck…. Masu …" I whimpered. He heard me and loosened his grip. Looking down he smiled, "Still the tiny Khajiit I always knew!" I smiled back at him, "Still the huge Nord I know!" I purred back enjoyingly.

After our greeting we left to meet with the third of our childhood trio; Salvic, a slim Argonian about the same height as me. He has dark green scales, purple feathers on his head along with small horns that pointed backwards. Without any luck in finding Salvic, we continued to search the marketplace. I was wondering if he even showed up when I suddenly felt something grab me and pull me back and shove me into the shadows behind a stall.

I readied my claws to slash whoever was attacking me. "Got you!" A voice said. Whoever it was lifted their head in gleeful laughter. The moonlight reflected off the perpetrator revealing it to be Salvic. I sheathed my claws and embraced him. "Salvic! You came!" He laughed, "Of course I would! I would never miss your parties!" Masu peered over the edge of the stall and looked at me puzzled. I pointed to Salvic and said, "Found him." Salvic let me go and I got up onto my feet, brushing off my fur. With our trio united, we talked on our way to the stall full of treats.

The rest of the party was great. We had a bunch of party games like pin the tail on the skeever and then my mom started some drinking games with some of the adults. Around that time me, Masu, and Salvic decided to go have fun for one last night before I left to join the Ebonheart Pact. We decided to meet outside of Riften near the road.

We all ran off to our homes to get some adventuring equipment on. When I got home I took off my fur armor and gently put it away. I geared up in my iron armor and put my axe into its sheath on my waist. I sprinted out of my house and out the gate of Riften.

I walked off the path and headed to our meeting spot. When I got there both Masu and Salvic were ready and waiting. Masu had traditional Nord steel plates on and carried a sword and a shield on his back. Salvic had put on a scaletight, dark leather suit and carried a steel dagger in one of his boots and an iron sword in a hip sheathe.

We started our journey through the swamps near Riften to a nearby manor. The Elsier Manor kept some beehives to produce honey. We often liked to sneak in the back and get some honey for ourselves. If we did not do it right then the bees would freak out and start stinging us, which often lead to us running around and getting caught.

We have been caught a few times, but I think we grew on the family that lives there. Last time we got caught, the oldest of the family, an old Nord woman named Madlin, gave us a jar of extra honey and told us that all we had to do was ask for some and that they had plenty extra. We spotted the path to the manor up ahead and started to head for it.

We reached the dirt path and started to follow it. After a few minutes of walking the manor came into sight. We fastened our pace along the road and smiles grew on our faces. We were only a minute or so away from the manor when a figure stepped out in front of us from behind some thick bushes. The figure wore dark robes and stared at us, the hood of his robes concealing his face. From behind us popped up three more of the dark figures. We started to get closer to each other and we faced back to back in a triangular formation and pulled out our weapons.

The figure that stood in front of us pulled down its hood and revealed itself. "We are the necromancers of the Rift and you should be honored to see us. For we will be killing you three and resurrecting you to serve as our eternal thralls." Our faces turned emotionless while we formed a plan. I turned my head slightly and whispered to Masu and Salvic, "I get the first one." Masu replied softly, "Fine, but I get the other three."

Salvic spun his dagger and prepared to initiate the fight. "Leave some for me!" I held my great-axe in both hands and got ready to charge. The necromancer laughed, "How fun! This will be a massacre!"

All three of us at once jumped at our targets. I charged towards the first necromancer while Masu and Salvic attacked the other three. The necromancer predicted my movement and a bright lavender light left his hand and slammed into the ground.

A skeletal hand broke free from beneath the ground and started to pull itself out. Evil cackling came from the necromancer. I raised my axe and rushed to bring it down on him. The hand pulled out its skeletal body and started reaching for me. The necromancer created a ward around himself. Instead of bringing my axe down on him with the ward effectively stopping it, I turned to the skeleton and brought it down on its bony head.

Its head split in half and the skeleton fell limp. I flew a few feet onto my back and saw a burn spot on my armor where I was hit by a spell. The necromancer held his hands out and started casting another spell. I looked behind where I was on the ground and saw Masu cleaving the head off of a necromancer and Salvic slitting the throat of another.

I jumped back onto my feet and flicked my tail. The necromancer's spell flew out his hands in a blast of darkness aimed to my heart. "Duck!" I yelled. I quickly forced myself down and watched the spell fly over my head. I turned around to see that Masu ducked just in time for the spell to sail over him and hit a necromancer that was about to stab Salvic.

Salvic faced us with a face expecting death, but then his attacker fell down writhing and grabbing at his chest in pain. I turned back and swung my axe from my side and caught the last necromancer in his kidneys. The axe cleaved his side in half, exposing his insides. He fell forward onto his knees.

I rose my now bloodied axe above my head. Blood started to leak from his mouth as he tried casting one final spell. I dropped my axe straight down into his head and pulled it out as his limp body fell down. We cheered for our victory.

The clanking of armor came from behind us towards Riften. We turned around still covered in a bloody mess. Several heavy-clad soldiers of the pact sprinted to us and looked down to see the bodies. I recognized the Nord recruiter from earlier as he ran up to us. He asked us what happened and we explained to him as they inspected the bodies and the land around the path. He told us to follow him and we walked behind him back to Riften.

We stood in the market place when Mom came out and hugged me. "You worried me Saakra, but I am glad you are okay." I held her tight. "Mom, I leave tomorrow and when I leave you have to know that I will be in danger in battle. You have to trust me, I will come back." I stood in her embrace for a while, but eventually she left to go back home. I turned back to my friends and the recruiter. We talked about what happened some more and then I left for my house to settle for the night.

The next morning, I threw on my iron armor and grabbed my axe and walked downstairs to Mom. I noticed the burn spot and blood was cleaned off my armor. Mom must have taken care of it while I was sleeping. When I reached the bottom of the steps Mom saw me coming down. She rushed to me and gave me a strong hug. "Be safe son." She let go of me and looked at me. "I will be safe Mom, I love you." "I love you too my little kitten." She started brushing my cheeks and hugged me again. After we had our final good-bye I walked out the door and left the gates of Riften.

The camp was busier than usual. New recruits ran left and right preparing for the journey by carriage to Whiterun. Masu and Salvic waited by the carriage. Salvic was leaning on the carriage waiting for me to approach, however Masu was talking to the Nord recruiter from yesterday. They were dressed in their armor instead of their usual casual clothes.

I walked up and asked, "What are you guys doing in your armor?" Salvic got off the cart and walked a step forward and crossed his arms, "You don't think you could leave us here without you, did you? We are joining the pact with you."

A wide grin grew in my face. With our trio together still, we finished getting ready and we all boarded the same carriage to Whiterun. Once the carriage was full with us and two other recruits except for one seat, the recruiter boarded with us and told the driver to start heading to Whiterun.

The recruiter turned to me and shook my hand then said, "Welcome to the Ebonheart Pact, my name is Commander Sarius."


	2. Chapter 2

**Saakra the Ebonheart Warrior – Chapter 2**

"Uuuugh" I moaned as I opened my eyes. I rubbed my eyes clear and looked around me. Pretty much everyone in the carriage except for the driver and Commander Sarius were passed out. Sarius was staring out behind the cabin watching the landscape roll by. Looking at him sleepily I said, "Are we there yet?" He turned to face me. "We are crossing the bridge near Whiterun. If you look over there ... "He pointed his finger towards a tall building surrounded by walls. "... You can see Whiterun. We should be there shortly."

Wow. Is that Dragonsreach? Hm, if what I have heard was true then Dragonsreach was built to trap an ancient dragon! I wonder what the inside looks like. "Have you ever been inside of Dragonsreach?" Sarius must have noticed me staring at it. "No, what is it like inside?" I turned back around to face him. "Well, inside there are steps leading up to the Great Hall and the Jarl's throne. The room is adorned with lavish decorations. Behind his throne lies the chamber where Numinex was imprisoned.

Legend says the old King, Olaf One-Eye, dueled with Numinex using dragon shouts. I have never seen such a thing, but Numinex's skull adorns the Great Hall in Dragonsreach so it must be true." I tried to imagine the Great Hall and the Dragon Skull. "Does a dragon look like a giant Argonian?" Sarius guffawed. Everyone sleeping in the carriage woke up because of how loud he laughed. Well, besides Masu; he slept like a draugr. Salvic lifted his head and yawned. "What about Argonians?"

Sarius was still cracking up pretty hard, but eventually it died down. He told everyone what I said and everyone had a good laugh. Then he explained what a dragon was. By the time he finished, we arrived at Whiterun. We were to report to Dragonsreach to be briefed.

The carriage slowed to a halt and the driver picked up a sword and started banging the wooden wall separating him from us. "Get up and out! I don't have all day!" Everyone started grabbing whatever they carried on with them, which for the majority of us was nothing. Our group started heading to the gates of Whiterun while Sarius stayed back to pay the driver.

While the rest of my group were climbing the path to the gate, I saw a small clearing with a few tents set up. Outside the tents were a few Khajiit sitting around staring at us as we walked by. I ended up heading to them to see what they were doing. The oldest Khajiit in the group stood up "Would you like to see Maiq's Wares?" I wonder why they selling their goods outside. "No thank you, why are you outside Whiterun's walls?" I asked. He looked at me sadly and looked down, "Khajiits are not allowed to enter." Maiq looked back up, but this time seemed frustrated. "Nords keep saying all we Khajiits do is steal." His expression calmed. "So what are you doing in Whiterun?" "I joined the Ebonheart Pact." "Ah, this one did not think a Khajiit would be allowed." I got up and said my goodbyes to the merchants and continued on my way to the gates.

I could see the other recruits walking through the open gates and I started rushing to catch up. When I was about to pass through, one of the guards stopped me. "No Khajiits allowed inside." I tried to tell him I was with the recruits, but he interrupted me before I could start. "No if or buts about it. Go join the rest of your kind outside." I decided to wait till someone in my group realized I was missing. I walked over to a small clearing in front of the guard and was about to sit down but Sarius arrived. I walked up to him. "Commander, the guards won't let me inside."

He motioned for me to follow and strolled to the guard. The guard saw me trailing behind Sarius and asked, "Is this Khajiit bothering you?" Sarius stopped in front of him. He lifted a finger up to point at me. "This is Saakra, he is a recruit for the Ebonheart Pact and he will be joining us inside." The guard seemed uncertain for a second, but decided to stay out of the away. The guard turned to me and said, "Sorry sir." I followed Sarius through the gate and up to Dragonsreach.

Upon reaching the entrance of Dragonsreach, the actual enormity of it became clear. Sarius and I walked through the large wooden doors and up the steps to the Great Hall. Recruits wearing their various armors were waiting at tables around the hall. Jarl Stone Arm sat comfortably in his throne with a few older adults standing by him. I spotted an empty seat near a table and quickly sat myself down. Commander Sarius took a place near the right side of the jarl.

Jarl Stone Arm stood up and started addressing us, "Welcome to Whiterun recruits. I am Jarl Stone Arm and I will be overseeing your training for the next few months. Everyone will be taking the four essentials classes. Basic Weapons, Basic Offensive Magicka, Basic Defensive Magicka, and Basic Adventuring. Your teachers will be discussing each class shortly. "

Jarl Stone Arm sat back down and an old, frail Dunmer woman stepped forward from the Jarl's left side. "I am Eileath. I will be your teacher for Basic Defensive Magicka. In class we will be learning how to use restorative spells and protection spells. Classes will be held in the afternoon from two to four. We will meet in the training camp right outside Whiterun." She took a step back.

A heavily armored Argonian man walked forward with a giant smile plastered on his face. "Welcome! My name is Meerva and I am teaching your Basic Weapons class! Most classes will be in the arena being set up inside of the training camp." A Nord across from me spoke, "An arena? Will we be fighting each other?" "Of course! What else are we going to do? Slash at a tree?" The Nord looked nervous. "Uh, yes..?"

Meerva turned his focus back to the group as a whole, "No, we will learn the basics of a blade then we will group everyone into a squad. I will be picking your squads after the first week of class. Afterwards each squad will be pitted against another in a bi-weekly battle."

Meerva started to move back but a small Dunmer girl raised her voice and asked, "Wait! When are classes?" Meerva spun himself to face us. "My bad, classes will be for three hours starting from the crack of dawn." I saw a few jaws drop. Cries of protest started to fill the room. A tall Nord at another table stood up. "Sir! This is madness!" Meerva cracked up and walked away. The Nord looked disappointed and sat back down.

The next teacher to present himself was Sarius. "Listen up recruits! If you do not already know me, I am Commander Sarius and I will be teaching Basic Adventuring. By time you are done with my class, you will be able to survive alone for months in the deserts of Hammerfell, the jungles of Elswyer, and the swamps of Argonia. The first class will be at Skyforge from nine to eleven." He stepped back. No one else took his place. We have four classes, but there are only three teachers here. Who and where is the fourth? I started gazing around the room to find the fourth but had no luck.

Everyone in the class decided to use the time to chat. Now that I had time to look around, I counted the number of recruits. We had about forty in total. The Nord across from us started to walk off to some other table. I saw Salvic and Masu over at one of the other tables talking to the Dunmer girl from earlier. I was watching them for a second before someone started talking to me.

"Cat." I turned to the person. A rather pretty Argonian had sat next to me while I was watching my friends. She had light lavender feathers and short horns arching backwards. Her dark green skin contrasted with her teal eyes. I noticed I had been staring for a few seconds when she said, "Done yet?"

I shook my head in embarrassment. I reached out my hand. "Nice to meet you, my name's Saakra." She shook my hand, "Kierva." She let go of my hand and asked, "What brings a Khajiit to join the Ebonheart Pact?" As if on cue I replied, "I was born in Skyrim and I will fight for Skyrim." How many more times am I going to be asked tonight?

She smiled at me, her smile is quite beautiful. "Lighten up, not everyone dislikes Khajiits." I returned her smile, "I get asked a lot and so I've grown used to the same response." On a whim, I said, "You're awfully pretty for an Argonian." She blushed, "And you are striking for a Khajiit." We sat in silence for a few seconds until she broke it.

"So, you know any spells Saakra?" Kierva asked, I shrugged. "None. I never had to use any spells." She winked, "You're going to need it cat." I grinned, "You too lizard. What spells do you know?" I glanced around the room.

By now the entire hall was filled with chatter and laughter as the fourth teacher was nowhere to be seen and the rest just stood silently. They looked like they were expecting something. Kierva looked annoyed while she sat there waiting for me to notice her again. "Oh, sorry."

She started to list off her spells one by one. "...oakflesh, detect life, flames..." Maybe she could use detect life to find where the fourth teacher was. "Kierva, can you find the last teacher with detect life?" She nodded.

Her eyes started glowing a pale yellow color and she started looking around the room. She had turned to beside where the Nord had been earlier. She almost jumped out of her seat in surprise. "What i..." I began before a Khajiit suddenly appeared leaning across the table a few inches in front of Kierva. I freaked out and my chair fell backwards. My head smacked the floor and I laid down in a daze. He flung himself backwards and started laughing loudly. All of the recruits were laughing at us now. He continued to chuckle to himself for a bit then he stood up and moved to the jarl.

The entire class was snickering and watching him step-by-step as he made his way to the front. Kierva had gotten a good scare from it. Everyone was surprised there was another Khajiit in Dragonsreach. I got back to my senses and pulled myself and the chair back up. Ugh, my head hurt.

After the pain subsided I patted Kierva on the back. "Calm down Kierva, you look like you've seen an aedra." She seemed to relax for a bit before replying, "You too Saakra, are you okay?" I rubbed the back of my head in pain. "I think I'll be fine."

"Here." A voice behind me said. I turned around and saw the Dunmer girl that was talking with Masu and Salvic. A stream of golden light flowed and swirled from her hands over to the back of my head. A warm feeling pulsated through my body from where I hit my head. After a few seconds she stopped and started shuffling back to her seat. "Thanks." I told her. She turned her head back to face me, "Anytime." In the corner of the hall I saw Eileath smiling at the girl as she walked away from me.

The Khajiit stopped where he was and turned to face us recruits. "I am Jo'san. I will be instructing you all to learn Offensive Magicks in the Arena. We start tomorrow at twelve." He stepped over to Sarius and stood next to him.

Jarl Stone Arm lifted himself from his throne. "Lodging will be in Jorrvaskr. Thank the companions you will not be sleeping outside. For tonight you can explore Whiterun, but you must not leave these walls. Also you must be in Jorrvaskr by sundown. Classes start in the morning." He lowered himself back onto his throne. "Dismissed." The teachers grouped up in the corner and started chatting. Same with most of the recruits. Some charged outside to explore whatever Whiterun could offer them while the sun still lasted.

I searched the room to see where Masu and Salvic went. I found them still talking to that Dunmer girl that healed me but this time they were near the doors leading outside. I turned back to tell Kierva but she was gone. I shrugged and ran to the three of them. When I reached them I slowed down and looked at the Dunmer, she had long black hair and crimson eyes. "Thanks for healing me back there. Would probably have a killer headache if you didn't."

She smiled at me and said, "My name is Dawn." I grinned in reply. "Saakra." The two of us, Masu, and Salvic continued to chat for what might have been an hour before the teachers started herding us outside.

They led us to Jorrvaskr and showed us inside. Downstairs there was two long lines of some gigantic fur bags. They were pretty weird, they were about the height of a giant's leg and could fit maybe two or three people inside. The companions called them "sleeping bags".

Each of us picked out a sleeping bag and called it a night. Most of the recruits were upstairs, I knew only because anyone from as far as the gates of Whiterun could hear them. I started to pull off my armor and lay it down in a pile. I continued and was about to take off my shorts when one of the companions walked up to me, "Woah there! You might want to keep those on till you have your own room." Oh. Forgot other people shared this room with me. "Alright." I decided to just keep my shorts on and crawled into the bag for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Saakra the Ebonheart Warrior – Chapter 3**

I woke to the sound of footsteps approaching. I sat up stretching my arms out in a yawn. Looking at the other end of the hallway I saw a few companions. They walked from bag to bag waking recruits. The companions were having trouble with getting some of the recruits out of the bags. Not everyone can get up at the crack of dawn. I stood up on my feet and picked up my armor. I put it on and strolled over to Masu's bag. I knelt down and shook him, "Come on Masu, wake up." He opened his eyes and looked at me. "Is it dawn already?" He got up out of his bag and started getting ready. I then walked over to the bag across from his and woke Salvic up.

Most of us were awake now and starting to move about. I noticed that some of the sleeping bags from last night were gone. Must have been extras. I walked up the stairs to the dining area and sat down at a table. A platter of cheese and bread lay on each table. Next to each was a jug of water. I grabbed my glass and filled it with the jug and set it back down. I grabbed a loaf of bread and started gnawing on it. Eventually Masu, Salvic, and Dawn joined me for breakfast. Everyone started to eat and talk.

We started to chat about class and what weapons we are the best with. "Dawn, what do you think you would be best with?" I asked. "I don't know, maybe a short sword? I plan on using spells more than weapons." Masu spoke up, "Maybe you should try using a staff." Dawn thought for a moment, "I think I'll try one." Someone sat next to me and I looked over to see Kierva. "Hey Kierva." I pointed towards each of my friends one by one, "Kierva, this is Masu, Salvic, and Dawn." Masu finished chomping on some bread. "Welcome to the group Kierva!"

Kierva eyed the food on the table. She picked up some bread and cheese and said, "Hey guys, how long have you known each other?" I put the rest of my bread down and motioned from me to Masu to Salvic. "We've known each other since we were little children."

Salvic joined in, "I'm pretty sure we met in the Riften marketplace. Masu was asking someone about sweet rolls and Saakra was running around aimlessly. I was watching them from my roof when I decided to go and talk to them. We ended up working together to steal some sweet rolls from the bakery."

"We met Dawn just yesterday in Dragonsreach. How did you and Saakra meet?" Salvic finished. Kierva spoke, "When I had walked into Dragonsreach, I saw Saakra. I have never seen a Khajiit inside Whiterun and I wanted to speak to him. When he saw me he stared at me for a good ten seconds. " She chuckled, "After that I nearly got scared to death because of that other Khajiit and Saakra fell down."

Salvic, Masu, Dawn, and I continued talking until Kierva finished eating and left to walk to the arena. The arena was a large circle of grassland surrounded by a short stone wall. We entered the arena. Our teacher, Meerva, was waiting in the center. Two racks of various weapons sat to his side.

Other recruits slowly filled the room. When everyone was finally present Meerva spoke up, "Today I will be working with every single one of you recruits to teach you how to properly wield a blade, a staff, a bow, and a shield. You will master the art of combat. Failure to do so will get you killed. We are not fighting the witless goblins or small time bandits. We are fighting armies. Armies that will not show mercy in the heat of combat. "

"If you are to survive to see the end of this war then you must learn. You must train. You have to become the strongest." Meerva walked up to one of the racks and pulled out an iron short sword. He stepped forward and grabbed a Nord man and pulled him forward. "Grab a weapon." The man walked over to a rack and picked up an Orcish war axe and a shield.

Meerva positioned himself. "Attack me." The Nord took a deep breath and charged forward with the axe held high. He brought it down to hit Meerva. Meerva lifted the small sword and parried the axe away with a flick of his wrist. The axe flew from the Nord's hands and landed a few feet to his side.

The Nord then lifted his shield to block any attacks from Meerva. Meerva had other ideas. He spun and kicked the shield away. The shield clattered on the ground and before the Nord could react the worn short sword was inches from his throat.

Meerva backed away, "A sword does not determine the fight. The skill of the wielder does." He put the sword back on the rack. Looking at the Nord he said, "Put those back and you can return to the others." The Nord quickly put the axe and shield on the rack and walked back into the crowd of students.

We spent the next hour going over each type of weapon, its advantages and disadvantages, and differences in the blade based on the material used to forge it. We learned that iron is cheap but breaks easily under pressure; orichalcum and steel is strong but too heavy for fast combat; Glass is deadly and fast but can't penetrate heavy armor; ebony is heavier then glass and lighter then iron and has the power of an orichalcum blade, but it is very difficult to make or even get the materials to make.

Meerva then paired us up with a partner to practice fighting with an iron sword. Masu was paired with Dawn, Salvic with another Argonian, and I got paired with Kierva. Masu has to be at least two times larger than Dawn, how does Meerva expect her to fight against him well?

Everyone spread out with their partners and started. Swords started clashing and the occasional comment from Meerva telling someone how to use the sword in some way. I looked at Kierva, she wore a set of iron just like every other recruit here. "You ready?" She raised her sword and shield, "Ready when you are."

I charged at Kierva with my shield held in front of me, she sidestepped and swung her sword at me from above. I shoved my shield upwards and blocked her sword. I positioned my sword to slash at her when her shield struck my face and sent my sword flying away from me.

Her sword flew forward to spear me, but I raised my shield to block it. Her sword impaled the wood and splinters smacked my face. The blade was inches from my face. Taking the opportunity, I threw my shield off to the side, her sword still stuck in it followed. Now unarmed, I unsheathed my claws.

She advanced forward with only her shield. She tried bashing me with her shield. I copied Meerva's earlier move and struck her shield with my boot. She gripped on it hard enough so it did not fly away, but her arm and the shield flew back.

It gave me enough time to scurry to her. I quickly raised a hand to her neck as if I was going to finish her then I wrapped my arms around her. I moved my lips to her ear and whispered, "Caught you." I chuckled softly then released my grip and stepped back with a feeling of accomplishment. I looked back up at her to see her face was flush. She looked cute when embarrassed.

"Well done." Meerva walked up to us. "Great job on disarming him Kierva. You too Saakra, using your shield to disarm her won you that fight." I had not even noticed he was watching. Oh well. He walked off to go watch some other recruits spar.

I glanced over to Salvic to see him still scuffling with the Argonian. However, Dawn was standing over Masu with her sword up to his neck and her shield intact. Surprised, I laughed. Whoever would have thought she would have beaten him so badly.

I turned back to face Kierva, her face returned to its original color. I stuck out my hand, "Good job." She smiled at me, "You too." She stepped forward and instead of shaking my hand Kierva threw her arms around my neck and pulled me in.

I felt her warm breath near my lips as I leaned in. Is she about to kiss me? I puckered my lips as she pulled me closer. I was an inch away from her lips when she abruptly moved her hand up to my chest and lightly pushed me away. My mind was racing with hormones and confusion until she said, "Caught you."

"Hahahahaha! She got you good!" I heard Masu cracking up beside me. I felt embarrassment spread across my face. She smiled at me and ambled to Dawn. I turned to face Masu. He put one hand on my shoulder and his other on his stomach to try and contain his laughter.

He chuckled while he spoke, "I can't believe you thought she was going to kiss you! To the divines you are gullible!" His laughter died off and Salvic had walked over to join us. Salvic gazed at me curiously, "What happened?" Masu took it upon himself to explain, in detail, about how Kierva fooled me. Salvic snickered.

"Alright! Class is dismissed." Meerva called out. Recruits around the room sheathed their swords and started leaving. I picked up mine and what was left of the shield. Meerva walked up to me, "You can leave your shield here, I will get you a new one. Oh, congratulations on the new girlfriend." I responded quickly, "She's not my girlfriend." He strolled away and flicked his hand in the air, "Sure she isn't."

That gave another excuse for Masu and Salvic to start laughing at me again. Oh well. She is attractive. However... I will get her back. Salvic, Masu, and I started walking to our next class of the day; Basic Adventuring. Ahead of us I saw Dawn and Kierva walking together and giggling.


	4. Chapter 4

**Saakra the Ebonheart Warrior – Chapter 4**

Skyforge was full by time everyone arrived. There was hardly any room for all of us recruits to fit. Everyone was shoulder-to-shoulder as we crowded around Sarius. He showed us how to forge an iron dagger and an iron helmet. He gave everyone supplies to make our own.

Extra anvils had been set up in preparation for the class to use. Everyone received two iron bars, four strips of leather, and one deer pelt. I searched the room for Kierva and found her talking to Dawn. Salvic turned to me, "You planning something?" I shrugged, "No idea what I will do, but I will do something." Masu shouldered me, "Just go and ask her out already!"

I looked at him and said, "I will, just not now." Salvic grinned then turned back to his work. "You guys ready to make a dagger?" He said.

"I am, let's get started." We each took our turn to smith a basic dagger. Masu's was duller than either Salvic's or mine. It was as if he just randomly hammered it down into a block. Salvic's was much better; He hammered the metal into a rectangular shape and had little to no imperfections on the edge. Mine came out to be okay. The dagger was not the best, but it could do its job.

We set down our daggers and started on the helmets. My helmet came out clunky. I don't think I will be wearing it any time soon. Masu's and Salvic's was forged by the nine divines when compared to my hideous creation.

I grabbed the dagger and walked over to one of the grindstones. I sat down and started pumping the lever with my foot. Once the stone was spinning fast I brought the dagger down. Sparks started flying from the dagger. I twisted and turned the dagger while remaining contact with the whirling stone.

I carefully eyed the blade to decide when I felt the edge was satisfactory. I pulled the dagger up and examined the blade. It looked sharp. I searched around and found a scrap of leather. I brought the blade down the scrap and watched as the dagger effortlessly cut through the leather.

I laid the dagger down on a table and collected my helmet. I could not find the square of leather I had earlier and started searching around the table. Not finding anything, I turned around and in front of me was Kierva. She held the square in her hand.

"Thank you, where did you find it?" I asked. She looked at me and smiled pleasantly, "Meet me by the stables at seven." She handed me the leather and turned around. Her tail brushed against my leg as she strolled away.

_Well, that was slightly unexpected_. I looked down at the leather. _I have a feeling that she did not happen to just find it._

Sarius herded the class into a formation and gave us squads. Each squad consisted of 5 recruits. He counted 40 recruits so he had assigned 8 squad leaders. I was assigned as a squad leader and so was Masu.

Masu and I were kind of disappointed that we were in separate squads, but we were both leaders of our own. The five of us talked it over and decided that Masu would get Salvic in his squad and I would get Kierva and Dawn in mine.

I had two others join my squad. A slender Nordic woman named Alishia who was skilled in magic and another Nord named Jaugr. He was not as bulky as Masu was, but he was close. Sarius instructed the leaders of each squad to get to know their members and their strengths.

I got my squad to form a circle and I stepped in between Kierva and Jaugr. "Alright, so let's take some time and tell each other what we are best at. I indicated towards Jaugr, "You first."

He straighten his back and spoke, "I am best with a sword and a shield. I can use a bow if needed and I have picked a few locks before." He faced left towards Alishia to signal he was done. She noticed and said, "I work best with magic. I know some spells in every school of magicka and specialize in destruction."

Now it was Dawn's turn. "Same here, but I specialize in restoration. I can mend most major wounds quickly. I felt Kierva shift besides me, "I fight best with swords and I can cast a few spells myself." Lastly I spoke up, "I am best in combat with an axe. Even with the weight I can move quickly and swing strong."

Sarius dismissed the class shortly after for our one hour break. My squad and I met up with Masu's. Masu had two Dunmer in his squad that wore robes and a Nord wearing an iron set. We all decided on going to Bannered Steed for lunch.

The Bannered Steed was a small restaurant set up inside Whiterun. We walked in and Salvic found an empty table with plenty of room. I took a seat and shortly after, Kierva sat down beside me. I grinned at her she and returned it.

A waitress came around and passed out some menus. Pretty much the only thing on it was a variety of similarly cooked horse meat. I ended up deciding on the Night Shade Special, which for those who don't know is horse cooked over a stack of burning Night Shade. The meat would have a weird but pleasing taste, even if it had a chance to be lethal.

Everyone else decided on meals that were less dangerous such as the wood fired horse and the goat leg. When our orders arrived I grabbed a fork and knife and started cutting into the meat. Everyone watched in suspense as I took a bite. _It tastes... great! I never tasted anything so good!_

The air was riddled was tension as I chewed. I swallowed the bite. I started choking and wrapped my hands around my neck to try and stop it. I fell backwards out of my chair and onto the ground.

Everyone was shocked and started to get up to help. I could see Kierva's face filled with worry as she hopped out of her seat. Dawn ran up to where I laid and started using a soothing spell on me. "I don't know if I can stop it, I was never taught this!" She said franticly. Kierva rushed over to me and knelt beside me. "Don't die Saakra, I don't want you to leave me." I was a bit shocked myself to hear the intense emotions in her voice.

I heard someone else sprinting towards me. It was the waitress, she bent down and poured a cup of something into my mouth. When the liquid slid down my throat I started coughing in disgust. She just poured liquefied onions and garlic down my throat! I got up and started coughing it out. Kierva pulled me in close and wrapped her arms tightly around me. I cleared my throat and said, "By the divines that horse was good! However that mixture that stopped me from dying tasted like shit."

Everyone calmed down after a bit and I was given a glass of the terrible liquid to finish my horse steak with. The only person who was not acting the same as before was Kierva. She had set her chair closer to mine and sat close to me. Very close.

_Who would have thought that by almost killing myself I would find out how she felt about me._ I still felt a bit surprised at the amount of emotion she showed and the fact that she even felt that way about me. I originally thought I would just get rejected and that she was previously just messing with me.

After everyone finished eating we stepped outside. I led Kierva by her hand away from the group and I cradled her in my arms. She dug her face into my shoulder and we stood together. After a few seconds she brought her face back from my shoulder and leaned in towards me. I pulled her as close as our armor would allow and we kissed. Instant bliss flowed through my lips and down my body. After a good five seconds we stopped kissing and held each other in our arms.

We finally let go of each other when Masu called for us to hurry up. _It's already time for class? That went by fast. _Kierva and I left hand in hand with the rest of our squads to our Magicka class. We had just found out that our two Magicka teachers decided to put both classes together so we can use each skills we learn during the same class.

A good example would be burning off someone's face then use restoration to heal them or learn to use a ward whilst someone else learns to shoot ice spikes. Good motivation too. Who would want an ice spike embedded into their chest?

Kierva and I split off from our squad after everyone left the restaurant. She clasped my hand tightly and she walked shoulder to down to the arena. We got a few weird looks directed towards us while we walked through Whiterun. To their credit, it's not very common to see a Khajiit and an Argonian together.

We arrived to the arena and in the entrance was Jo'san. When he saw us he grinned wide. He looked at me and said, "So, how is that girlfriend of yours?" _I guess she is my girlfriend now, I wonder how he caught on to it before I did. _I turned to face Kierva and smiled happily, "Great." The two of us strolled inside and stopped next to Masu and Salvic. Masu beamed at us, "Took you two long enough."


	5. Chapter 5

_I will be working on the story some more, expect the writing to change as I experiment with how I write. Expect more action within the next chapter or two. Also chapters will be shorter, but I will be updating more frequently._

**Saakra the Ebonheart Warrior – Chapter 5**

I found out the hard way I suck at using magick. I was learning to use a ward while Kierva had fire flowing from her palms directed towards me. Well, you see, my ward... did not work. I had immediately caught on fire and I ran over to a small stream and jumped in and rolled around.

Now I am soaking wet and smell like burnt skeever. My armor is covered in mud and is dripping brown water. Gods smite me it is cold today. Jo'san instructed me to go change into something less wet.

I walked back through Whiterun and up to Jorrvaskr. I borrow a set of fur clothing from one of the local companions. It was a well-fit and it keeps me warm, so it's great in my current situation. I rushed back to camp and found everyone still training.

I found Jo'san's huge grin as he approached me. "Get back to training. However, this time try not to catch yourself on fire." I paused, "Yes sir." I continued on my way to Kierva.

I positioned myself in front of Kierva, "Alright, I'm ready." She looked as me hesitantly, "try not to let down your ward again? I don't want you to look like a burnt skeever as well as smell as one." I laughed, "I'll try not to."

She brought her arms and opened her hands to reveal her palms. Out of her right hand shot out flames and the other a large spike of ice. I was unprepared for the ice and by the looks of it so was she. My left hand flew up and I created a ward to block the incoming flames. I knew the ward would do nothing to stop the spike so I instead leaped away from it.

The spike flew through where I stood and was about to impale one of the cadets that was behind me but a large glowing wall appeared and the icicle stabbed into it and melted away.

Eileath walked up with her arms crossed. "You need to control your magick Kierva. Form an image of what form you want your magicka to take. These spells are only used to create the most basic forms of magicka. Magicka can take any form you wish it to but you need to shape it with your thoughts."

Kierva nodded, "Okay Eileath, I will try harder." "Alright, let's do this again Kierva, this time try not to poke holes into me." She formed her face into a weird half-laughing half-worrying smile. "I'll try not to Saakra."

We continued our training for the rest of class. I am finally able to conjure a basic ward to block a large swath of fire and how to summon and control flames. Kierva and the rest of my class mates were able to hold their ward while flames poured over them. I was the only one that smelled like a burnt meal in the entire class.

Class ended and everyone started to leave in groups back to Whiterun. Kierva did not seem to be bother by the stench. She still stood shoulder-to-shoulder with me as we walked to one of the local taverns to get a drink and something to eat.

"I am deciding on whether I should have more of that nightshade-roasted horse again." Kierva looked at me with worry, "I don't want you risking your life to eat more regardless if you have that drink to prevent the effects. One time is enough for now."

I shrugged, "Alright, I'll try something a little less lethal." We walked into the bar and a fairly small Nord took our order. Kierva and I decided on sharing the spiced mammoth platter with a side of mead.

We talked and talked about our lives and upbringing for at least an hour before we switched the topic to our relationship. "So I assume this means we are together now, no?" I asked with an eyebrow raised. "Of course!" She exclaimed while she pulled me in for a hug.

The platter was picked clean by time I had to head out. I was going to meet Kierva by the stables in a couple hours but I have to wash off my armor and get it clean from all of the mud and burn marks. I kissed her good-bye and left to head to Jorrvaskr.


	6. Chapter 6

_A lot is planned, I just do not have time to finish it all in one chapter!_

**Saakra the Ebonheart Warrior – Chapter 6**

I finally finished cleaning my armor. It was a tedious task, but I had to get it done. The rag I used was stained brown and had to be cleaned at the river. I set the rag down in a pile of similarly used rags near the stairwell to upper Jorrvaskr.

I walked back to my bag bed and dropped my sword and axe. Both fell with a clank. I strolled up the stairway and out of Jorrvaskr. The sun was setting over the rising mountains. Long shadows scarred Whiterun's surrounding land.

I started a slow jog down some stone steps and followed the cobble road to the gate. As I neared the gate, I slowed and nodded to a guard to open the town gate. He nodded in reply and pulled a lever. Gears inside of the wall turned and the iron-trimmed gates creaked open.

I stepped through the opening and continued my jog to the stables. The gates creaked again as they closed behind me. In the distance I can see pillars of flame and shining shards firing across the training grounds. Light flashed as wards popped. Must be some people still training from Magicka class.

At the stable were the horses roped to their pillars and a husky Nord leaned back in his chair. I came to a stop. The Nord's hoarse voice spoke, "You looking to buy one of these horses?" I waved my hand from side to side, "No, I am just waiting for someone." He nodded his head in understanding and put a strand of sugarcane between his lips.

It's not often one sees a Nord enjoy the most primitive form of moon sugar. Many towns may refuse entry if one was spotted with some. Maybe that is why he spends his time outside of town. I stepped over to a small ledge overlooking the training grounds. I let me feet hand over the side and leaned backwards and rested my weight on my hands.

Two figures were dueling. Both of the shadowy figures were outlined by remaining light of the setting sun. Their shadows danced a magnificent dance as they leapt and dodged streams of fire. One figure looked like it adorned itself in large robes and the other wore closely held clothes with a tail popping out from behind it.

The robed shadow seemed to blink back and forth between the streams of fire directed towards it. The tailed shadow performed amazing acrobatics as it flipped and flew around the first shadow. The light of the fire lit sparsely lit the shadows revealing the owners of such brilliant performers.

It was our two Magicka teachers. Eileath and Jo'san. _Damn, I better start training more if I ever have to fight like that_. The two of them stopped their duel and started to walk to a group of students. I pulled myself back a few inches and placed my feet on the ground.

I sat for a few more seconds and then stood up. I looked to the town gates. The guard stationed saw my glance and waved. I smiled, waved back and started my walk back to the road.

I had reached the cobble when I saw Kierva walking up to the path from me. She walked up to me and took my hand, I responded with a smile. Kierva then led me down the road and we started up the path to the snowy peak of Ridgewood Mountain, the mountain located south of Whiterun.

Once we reached an open stretch of ground covered in soft, pearl white snow, Kierva started to run through the field whilst dragging me along. I quickened my steps to match hers and he continued running hand-in-hand leaving tracks of our boots in the soft snow.

_The only thing that would make this moment more perfect is if time slowed for us to enjoy it._ The edge of the clearing poked up from the base of the mountain. We passed under the high branches of a forest of Evergreens and sprinted through sparse bushes. The bushes seemed not to tug at my pelt nor my armor.

I turned to see Kierva taking long strides over the ground. The power of the force that left her legs equaled that of the elegance of her movements. I turned back to see what was in front of me. I felt something stop my boot from passing and the next thing I saw was the ground rushing up to greet my face.

"Saakra! Help!" My eyes opened wide searching for the voice. "Saakra! Saak..." The voice spoke as it faded away. Looking around I saw I was laying bloodied in a bale of hay and a dark stone doorway loomed in front of me. I placed my hand on my head. Pain jolted through my body and I quickly flung my hand away. It was drenched in crimson blood.

_What happened? Wait. Who was with me? What was that voice? ... Kierva. I have to go save her!_ I brought myself to my feet after several bouts of pain. I started to limp past the doorway and into a hallway of dark stones covered in splatters of blood and severed flesh.

The hall way split into two paths. Both were equally dark and unrevealing. _Do I go left or right? Left or right? Left? Right? WHERE!? _A scream sounded down the hallway to the left. I forced myself to run through the pain down the bloodied path.

In the distance I saw what looked to be a corner. I continued towards it and when it was upon me I turned. A mirror enclosing the wall sat in front of me. The person I saw in the mirror was dyed red. Long streaks of blood ran down the side of my head and trailed to my feet. I wore nothing but rags. My face was swollen and battered. Two smalls streams of blood flowed down my forehead and formed an intricate pattern duplicated on both sides of my face. The pattern was that of a dragon. A legendary beast and the symbol of the Ebonheart Pact.

I turned my back to the dead end and sprinted back to the split. This time I went down the path to the right. Another corner approached me and I followed it. The corner turned to another hallway but the end of this hallway was a door.

I continued my struggle to the end of the path and through the door. The door of made of ebony and engraved on the front was a mighty lion standing on its hind legs. I grabbed the handle of the door and opened it. Kierva kneeled in front of a group of men.

One was of rough, dark skin, perhaps that of the desert. The other had features of a man and a mer, that one stood directly in front of Kierva brandishing a sharp sword. The third was very burly and had green skin covered in scars of war.

I limped forward and reached out, "Stop! Don't hurt her!" The half mer grabbed her chin and pulled her up. He swiped the blade at her throat. Blood met air as she tried to repress the blood using her hands. He let go of her and she fell to the ground with a thud.

I stopped my limp and fell next to her. More blood spurted from her throat as she tried to speak. "Kierva! Don't leave me! Don..." I started sobbing as I wrapped my arms around her. "Don't. Don't leave me... _I_ ... _**I love you.**_" A pain spread across my chest. I looked down and saw the blade that delivered the final sentence to Kierva delivered mine.

Cackling filled the air along with the ever growing thuds produced by my heart. A shove impaled the blade even more and the owner turned it unmercifully. I kept myself up as my vision faded to darkness. I looked at Kierva one last time. Her eyes grew distant as she struggled to take her final breath. Eventually the darkness overcame me and everything fell silent...

_This is not the end of the story! It has hardly even begun!_


End file.
